Religion and Theology

It is above all by virtue of its historical origin that the Christian community discovers its links with the Jewish people. Indeed, Jesus of Nazareth in whom it puts its faith, is himself a son of people. The link to their beginnings is the acceptance by Christians of the Sacred Scriptures of the Jewish people as the Word of God addressed to them as well. Indeed, the Church has accepted as inspired by God all the writings contained in the Hebrew Bible as well as those in the Greek Bible. Also, the Church during its apostolic times had to define itself in relation to Torah which in Jewish scriptures occupies a central place.

The linguistic relationship between the New Testament and the Jewish scriptures are numerous. For instance, although the Book of Revelation contains no explicit quotations from the Jewish Bible, but it is so steeped in the Old Testament that it is difficult to distinguish what is an allusion to it and what is not.

The New Testament recognizes the definitive value of arguments based on the Jewish Scriptures. In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus declares that Scripture cannot be annulled. Its value derives from the fact that it is the word of God (ibid.). In the Second Letter to Timothy, after mentioning the Sacred Scriptures, we find this affirmation All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. Specifically referring to the prophetic oracles contained in the Old Testament, the Second Letter of Peter declares First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of ones own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. These two texts not only affirm the authority of the Jewish Scriptures they reveal the basis for this authority as divine inspiration.

The covenant is the only human way of conceiving the relationship of God with its people, thus, it is defined simply I will be your God and you will be my people. The covenant should not be understood as bi-lateral for which the obvious example is the Promise to Noah in which God tells Noah and his sons that he is going to establish a bondbetween them and all living creatures with no obligation.

Another example that manifests Gods unilateral character is the Promise to Abraham in which the lord promises Abraham To your descendants I give this land (1518) which makes no mention of a reciprocal obligation. While The Covenant at Sinai with the poetic symbolism carry on eagles wings- shows clearly how the covenant is intimately connected with the great liberation begun at the crossing of the Red Sea.

The conclusionwhich is to be drawn is the early Christians were conscious of being in profound continuity with the covenant plan. Israel continues to be in a covenant relationship with God, but the early Christians were also conscious of living in a new phase of that plan, announced by the prophets and inaugurated by the blood of Jesus, blood of the covenant.

Marie M. Fortune, the author of Is Nothing Sacred is not just an author and ethicist she is a heroine that battles domestic violence and a pioneer on the quest to fight the sexual exploitations by religious leaders. She is an ordained pastor in the United Church of Christ and was actively engaged in the National Advisory Council on Violence against Women for the U.S Department of Justice from 1994 to 2002. Currently, she serves on the Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence for the US Defense Department. Furthermore, Marie M. Fortune founded the FaithTrust Institute in 1977, a national multifaith organization working to end sexual and domestic violence.
   
Being a parson, Marie M. Fortune has an extraordinary passion for humanity. This is one of the primary reasons why, in my opinion, she founded the FaithTrust Institute. She wanted to extend her passion and help to those who are in need by organizing forums and conferences to promote awareness against domestic violence and sexual abuse.
   
The book Is Nothing Sacred is about the story of a pastor who sexually abused women and the consequences that he faced when his deeds were exposed. The pastor seemed an average preacher that leads the church. People looked up at him with reverence and respect. People believe what he lectures because he is the person in authority. And being in his position, he has the loyalty of his subjects. His words seem to be facts that people should believe in and respect without question. However, everything about the pastor was just a faade. He was not the person that people deemed him to be. He sexually abused women and even used his position and authority to make his malicious intentions towards women easier to realize. The central point of the book was that not everything that seemed normal is right and actually normal. In the silence of the night and behind the smiles of women, there may be pain and abuse and this should not be taken for granted because it is a reality and there may be a lot of women who needs rescue and a lot of abusers that have to be persecuted and stopped with their wrong-doings.
   
The book in was organized in a way that effectively showed how a seemingly normal environment and people may have dark secrets. Is Nothing Sacred started with a general impression of an average congregation and a leader that seemed to be perfectly typical and ordinary. As the book progresses, it showed the series of events that gave hints that there is something wrong with the pastor and the ignorance of the congregation about it. The turn of events was gradual. As readers flipped from page to page, they get the hidden message that there was something wrong. The organization and pacing of the different parts of the book was very effective because of its gradualism thus, the readers felt the impact of each and every action and the consequences were deeply realized.
   
As aforementioned, each part of the book is vital to each other. The first part is important for a reader to understand the next and so on. Therefore, readers have to read thoroughly each and every part because there are many questions in the succeeding parts that is answered by the previous or sometimes the next. The events were intelligently intertwined. There is nothing in the content of the book that is unnecessary to the development of the central idea and message. The climax of the book was the revelation of the pastors malicious practices. However, wake up call didnt end in the disclosure of the secret it continues on the consequences of the pastors actions. More shocking and disturbing than the malicious deeds of the pastor were the effects it had to the women he abused and the congregation that believed in him.
   
Hence, the development of the book was designed to always go back to the central point  which is the pain behind the silence. From the beginning till the end, all summits point to the unfortunate fact that silence does not necessarily signifies peace and righteousness. There is more to the eyes can see. And what is more fateful fact is that sometimes what we see is not real but just a faade of something immoral.
   
Basically, I judged the book by the following criteria organization of thought, effective deliverance and its ability to touch the awareness of the readers. The organization of thought is an important criterion because it is the technical know-how of the author. There are instances when even though how big the idea is, if the way on how it is related is not effective, it becomes useless. The transition of partstopics of the book is included in the organization of thought. It is important that the information being discussed in a page is not far fetched from the previous and the next pages. This will make the readers attention focused and thus, understanding is deeper. Marie M. Fortune did an excellent job in organizing the ideas of her book Is Nothing Sacred. Each page is a link of the previous and the next. So when you start reading it, you cannot stop until you actually finish.
   
The second criterion on which I based my judgment of the book is effective deliverance. The criterion in composed of the way the information are conveyed and on the technical side, the choice of words and the construction of sentences. Good choice of words and fine development of sentences make a very good composition. Effective deliverance makes the message easier to reach the heart and mind of the readers. Is Nothing Sacred is a very good example of a book with a very good way of delivering the central point of message. The words used were carefully chosen. Crucial points and events were artfully described and thus, understood easily. Especially that the book deals with sexual matters, it made a very good job in making the descriptions educationally adaptive.
   
The last, but definitely not the least, criterion on how I judged the book is the ability to touch the awareness of the readers. Needless to say, it is abundantly clear that Is Nothing Sacred did an excellent job at this. As a matter of fact, it is one of the supreme books that deal about domestic violence and sexual abuse. It is one of the favorite resources when it comes to discussions about how to fight domestic violence and the eradication of sexual abuse in the society.
   
If the book was person that a reader can talk to, it teaches a lot. The title itself is very intriguing. As soon as hearing the title Is Nothing Sacred, readers themselves ask the same question to their subconscious Is Nothing Sacred The answer is then profoundly discussed in the content of the book. Thus, if you consider the book as a person, you will become a very amazed audience  listening to ideas and information that seem to be unreal yet actually exists. Along the progression of the book, you may have plenty of why and how. The best part is that questions are not left unanswered because the book was developed in a manner that all questions at point A are answered when you reached point B.
   
Ultimately, the book Is Nothing Sacred achieved its goal. It became a famous book in the field of anti-violence and anti-sexual exploits. Whenever there are conferences or forum about the topic of domestic violence and sexual abuse, the book always serves as an eye-opener. It is because it was able to effectively address the issues that ministries hide. It made public the secrets of some congregations and sends out the message that keeping sexual abuse and violence as a secret is never healthy, both to the victims and the offenders. Eventually, the truth comes out. Thus, it is best to address the issues and problems and hit it right at the eye.
   
Although Is Nothing Sacred talks about something negative that happened in the ministry, its effect is the adverse. It actually became a tool for the ministry to strengthen the trust of its members by making them aware of their rights and educating them of their duties to their brothers and sisters.

Afterlife or life after death is one major concept that has occupied the human mind throughout their existence. The afterlife is the notion that the consciousness of man continues after the occurrence of physical death. This is mainly believed to take place in the divine sphere. Most of the existing views on life after death are derived from religion, obscurity and metaphysics. The views are either empirical assertions based on observation or religious viewpoints based on faith. The empirical views are based on observations and conjecture created by humans that include physical research and parapsychology. The religious views are usually beliefs in stories passed down from the ancient times and are mostly found in the religious books. Religious views on life after death

 Afterlife has been a central element in most religions since the ancient times. Life after death played a significant role in the ancient Egyptian religion and forms the earliest belief system in the world. Among the Egyptians, the stages of human life, rebirth and life after death formed the reproductive cycles that surrounded them in the natural world. After death, they looked forward to continue their normal life with their descendant and enjoy all pleasures of life without pain and hardships. The idea is depicted in their burial rites that demonstrated how the deceased wished to remain after death. Life after death was experienced by the different components of the human body. The tomb was the natural location of the physical body and the illuminated spirit could live among other people, the vicinity of the tomb or in a different world. The guardian spirit resembled the person while the soul animated the individual. Most American Indians believed in some kind of existence after death and that human beings have more than one soul. The free soul can be removed from the physical body and survive death but the main soul connected to the breath cannot escape death. Most of the American native beliefs on life after death represent shamanistic themes.

 Zoroastrianism is one of the ancient religions that have influenced many other religions in many ways. It was founded in Persia by Prophet Zoroaster at around 100 BC. Its main element is the struggle between good and evil which is a more or less even match. On life after death, it teaches that the human souls will be judged after death by comparing the evil deeds versus the good deeds of the individual. After judgment, the person is either taken to hell or paradise but if the judgment is not immediately defined, then the soul is placed in a transitional realm to await the final apocalypse. After the long battle between evil and good, the good individual will receive resurrection to be made immortal while the evil will be consumed. This concept of resurrection represents the earliest notion of immortality and the end of the world when good overcomes evil and people rejoice with the renewal of creation. This idea of the end time was adopted by the Jews apocalyptic thinkers and later by Christianity and Islam. Towards the end of the 19th century, the Bahai faith emerged in Persia with roots in the Islamic culture. The religion teaches that the physical world is a representation of the spirit and the basic reality of each individual is the soul. Spiritual improvement continues after the termination of the soul from the body at death which occurs in the presence of god in an eternal and more extensive stage of education.

Gnosticism emerged as a movement and school of thought in the Hellenistic era and influenced paganism, Judaism and Christianity. Its main teachings were that the world more so the human body was the creation of an evil divinity that had confined human souls in the physical world. Human beings are required to reject the pleasures of the body in order to escape from this captivity. This can only happen through intellectual insight (Gnosis or knowledge). Instead of looking for immortality in life, the Gnostic believed that life was some sort of hell and they generally believed in a circle of reincarnation like the Asian religions. During the third century, another religious movement called Manichaeism emerged in the Mediterranean which was a mixture of Gnosticism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity. Its main teaching was the brutal dualism of the spirit and body. It emphasized that the soul was a fallen divine glow from the sphere of good while the body was the creation of the evil world. The righteous were believed to ascend into the light and everyone must reincarnate until they are fully purified.

Spiritualism is a religious notion that stresses in life after death based on scientific evidence and communication with deceased persons through medium ship. Its central tenet is the continuity of the individual by being reborn into a spiritual body. After death, the soul is slowly transformed until it reaches the realm of pure spirit and the speed of the process depends on the mental and moral capacities acquired on earth. Most Christian denominations hold the view of life after death where the righteous will inherit the kingdom of God while the sinners will be condemned to eternal punishment in hell. This will come to pass after the second coming of Jesus Christ and the final Day of Judgment.

The belief in life after death will continue to enlist a lot of interest from different quarters. It can not be proved or disapproved like a scientific theorem rather it can only be sustained by the belief system. This is one question that scientists will never unravel but every at one time will come face to face with the reality. Most people believe in life after death because there is no compelling reason to believe otherwise. Death is simply the end of the physical consciousness of man but the spiritual continues to exist. It is equally one subject that has confused the human mind especially in contemporary times. It is both a source of fear and hope in equal measure. The existence of variant view points about life after death more so how it should be attained is a big dilemma for many people. All in all, we shall at least exist in some form beyond our last breath.

The inquiry into the question of the role of women in Islam religion tries to give light into several aspects in the life and rights of an Islam woman in the contemporary setting.  The rights in question include the educational and economical rights which are fundamental to the development of any society.  Women being most imperative in the entire economic architecture, their rights have to be observed.  However, the Islamic law (Sharia) provides for the distinction between the rights, roles and obligations of men and women in the Islam religion.                                                                                                                                           A case study is Saudi Arabia which serves an important role to understand how the Islam religion perceives issues regarding womens education. In the article Islams Point of view on View on Womens Education in Saudi Arabia by Rafeda Al-Hariri, the journal of Comparative Education Vol. 23 No.1 1987, we learn about Saudi Arabia which is the heart of Makkah and Medina, the Holy places considered among all the Islamic states.  Saudi Arabia is truly an Islamic country since all the Saudis are Arab Muslims.                                                                                                                                                                  A very strong structure exists in the families in Saudi Arabia which values the family as an important constituent of a society with complete customs and ways of life. The Saudi Arabia society at large, strives to attain the peak in education and applications of modern technology by providing education to their children. Furthermore, the education system in Saudi Arabia recognizes the traditions and the values of the Islam religion which embrace the concept of family links and a family as a core social unit. Therefore, the education system in the Islamic community consolidates the structure of a family instead of dwindling it.                                                                                                                                     According to Muhammad, education should be offered to all the Muslims regardless to gender and both the male and female are equally requested to seek for knowledge through education.  Moreover, Muhammad the Prophet makes several statements regarding the rights of women.  For instance, while talking to his men, Muhammad said that God commands men to treat the women in a noble manner. The Prophet in addition declared that a Muslim is more perfect of faith when he is more kind and civil to his wife. The statement by Muhammad and those from the Holy Quran clearly indicate the complementary of men and women to each other.  This implies that two are depended of each other and when they work together in harmony, the full meaning of life is attained. Subject to the spirit of equality as taught in the Holy Quran, men and women have equal rights in a manner of justice.  Prophet Muhammad always reminded his Islamic religion followers about the equal treatment which should be granted to both female and male children in all matters of life including education.                                                                                                                                                        For women to command respect in the Islamic religion, the teachings in Islam restrict women to display their charm and beauty which often leads them to be objects of attraction.  This reduces the women to a maladroit and without manner lot which is not the nature of Islamic religion but a custom.  The Holy Quran makes this statement clear by pointing out that believing women should be advised not to display their ornaments and beauty unless they are with their husbands, husbands father, their fathers, husbands sons, their sons, their brothers or sisters sons, their women, the male servants or slaves devoid of vigor or to the children knowing nothing of the nakedness of women. The teachings of the Holy Quran in addition restrict women stamping their feet to disclose the hidden aspects of their beautification. The teachings in the Holy Quran are to protect the high esteem for the women by the public when they appear in public.  Women should at all times appear to have dignity and great decency.                                                                                                                                                                              The statutes about public appearance and general morality apply to men just like in women.  Therefore, the similar manner in which women should protect chastity and modesty, men alike are obliged to keep off from gazing and smirking at women. This makes the women to appear true equals in all scenarios of life including the most important aspect of education.  A similar case is studied in Malaysia by Mansur et al.  In their work, Perception towards the Importance of Education among Muslim Women in Papar, Sabah (Malaysia) Mansur et al of the University of Malaysia, Sabah in 2009 examines the aspect of education among the Islamic women and how it affects the socioeconomic quality of women.  The Malaysian women have been identified to play a major role in the economical development of the country and in the labor market. One of the most evident factors observed in Malaysia is the equal education access among both male and female children.
In Malaysia, education provision to women has enhanced better job opportunities and as a result increasing the individuals level of earnings.  In fact, education in Malaysia is considered a special factor in the modeling of human capital.   Since the Islam teachings provide that education and knowledge should be sought and acquired by each and every Muslim individual, it is the responsibility of the state of Malaysia to provide equal education.  The Islam religion does not condone laziness and idleness.  It is believed that poverty is brought by inactivity or idleness and all these are condemned in the Islamic religion. Muslims should entirely be involved actively in bettering their skills and knowledge in order to make their life with meaning and not mere existence.
    Mansur et al give a close examination on the perception towards the necessity of education among the women in Islamic society giving an example of Sabah, Papar district in Malaysia. Malaysian women have been observed to have improved participation to the countrys economic development and improved access to health and education. Much of the improvements were made possible by the fast economic growth which created novel and extra opportunities for Islam women.   The fast economic growth was also a product from the accomplishment of gender equality programs by the Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the government.  The changes in the institutional and legal structure also facilitated the involvement of women in the economic development. The most notable area of significant improvement is the fast rise in numbers of women contributing to the labor market.
    Equitable access of education by women has been identified as the important factor in the socioeconomic advancement among Malaysian women.   
The economical right of women in the Islamic religion is highly observed.  Women, just like men, have the right to earn and own property, contract, carry out various business enterprises without the intervention of any party.  She has her life, property and honor as sacred as that of man.  This is similar when it comes to paying for the penalties. In case of any offense that has been committed by a woman, she is given the same penalty like that imposed on man.  The compensations against any harm or wrong inflicted to a woman must be equal to that made to man.      Sometimes, it is argued that women are given less financial rights than men in the Islam religion.  It is absolutely true that the women are given proportionally less financial rights because of their less financial obligations.  They do not have much to do in the family relative to providing for the whole family. It is completely the role of a man to effectuate this function of family provision. This is similar to the sharing of inheritance as stipulated in the teachings of the Holy Quran.  Women should inherit less than the inheritance for men. It is reasonable to observe that women do not pay dowry neither pay for children and the aging parents.  This is reason enough to qualify them for less inheritance compared to that of men.  Some exceptions however exist where women may inherit more depending on their position in the family or the existence of the other heirs.The issue of women working in Islam is allowed but under specific conditions. They are recommended to seek employment only when there is dire financial need according to the Quran teachings on the two female shepherdesses. If the woman has to work, the nature of the work should not subject the woman to violate any law and statutes of the Islam religion. 
Economical rights for women are granted in most in all Muslim countries including the Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.  These rights have been offered to women equal to men, which has boosted the educational status of the women although they seem to concentrate in the line of arts specialties. Empowering women in education makes them to be on a safer side when it comes to solving issues of economic rights. Women become so dependent especially when they lack necessary education. This is a different case if a woman would be educated and stood along to cater for her needs sufficiently.  It is allowed in the teachings of the Holy Quran that a woman has a right to own property.  This makes the woman throw the scuffs of dependency and become autonomous. 
In general, education is the backbone of human capital development.  Therefore, education rights to women is imperative to the developing the economy of the individuals and a country at large. Skills and knowledge are gained through education which makes an individual to be independent.  Women are valued in the Muslim societies and as a result they are granted equal educational rights and to some extent, economic rights.   However, the financial privileges when it comes to inheritance may not be the same case compared to educational rights.  The women are given lower property inheritances with an outstanding reason they have no much financial obligations in the family. Majority of Muslim women have come to embrace the factor that education is important for future development which was not the case in the past. 

 Hinduism is one of the religions which evidently lack a united belief system. It is however to be realized that as a religion, Hinduism is a well organized religion, which is made up of the strong belief that life is a suffering and that happiness can only be realized when one gets in a state of being a divine ground of being both in phenomenal and spiritual existence (Pauwels, 2002). The religion has been mainly influenced by the traditional philosophical cultures of the Indian people. The concept of sole searching and self realization as it pertains to the cause and effects of human actions are quite influential to Hinduism as they originate from the Indian tradition. Hindus believe that death is the ultimate realization of self- actualization and thus liberation from the human sufferings of the world (BBC, 2009).
This paper gives a critical discussion on the Hindu religion. The author talks about what makes up the Hindu religion and how cultural and societal influences have made the religion vital to the Indians. A discussion on the concept of desire for earthy suffering liberation as taught by the Hindus is also given.
It has been rightly claimed that Hinduism is not a religion but rather a collection of traditions and beliefs which have constantly evolved over time (Cimpean, 2010). The whole concept behind such philosophical inclination of the Hindu religion is basically based on the search for knowledge that could sufficiently free mankind from the suffering or birth and rebirth cycles of worldly existence. Despite its lack of a united belief system, Hindu has one central theme which is the belief in Brahma the universal soul or creator and the individual soul, its rebirth and search for self actualization (Shattuck, 1999). It is thus clear that the religion has a strong belief in one Supreme Being who is the source of the ultimate reality. The religion is also made up of the human perception that religious faith should not be limited to a particular name or form. The truth is not only one reality but also universal and thus not an exclusive formulation. Hinduism is therefore a universal formulation of the concept of reality. It has many gods and their image representation all of which are just but reflective of the individual feelings, emotions and moods (Daniel, 2004). This is meant to allow its believers truthfully and conveniently worship the truth and ultimate reality as it exists.
Hinduism has been greatly influenced by the cultural and societal beliefs of the Indian people. This is basically due to the fact that it adopted numerous traditions and cultural systems which where adhered to by the Indian people. First and foremost is that the religion has as many myths as it concerns with the countless faces of the divine being and his interaction with the various kinds of people (Pauwels, 2002). It is to be realized here that just as could be found in the Hinduism religion, the Indian culture perceived the divine being as capable of blessing, punishing and protecting people depending on their levels of faith and adherence. It is these concepts which could be closely equated to the Hinduism concept of the trinity namely Brahma who is perceived as the creator of all reality, Vishnu or Krishna who is the preserver or provider of all of the creations, and Shiva the ultimate destroyer of all creations (Shattuck, 1999). Such can be interpreted to mean bless, protect and punish respectively as found in the Indian culture.
The concept of liberation from earthly existence is quite elementary in the Hinduism religion. It is in the process of karma that moksha is realized. Karma simply refers to acting from will. It is this concept which helps in explaining samara as a source of suffering in the human life (Cimpean, 2010). The concept claims that self actualization can only be realized when all the human individuals break the cycles of rebirth and reincarnation which causes suffering and thus realizing happiness or liberation in life. It is to be noted here that Hinduism beliefs that suffering is the result of the human ignorance and thus acceptance of the human person to make belief on the reality. It is therefore only after claiming defeat of such ignorance that the human person can realize liberation from earthly suffering. This process is best realized by trying to understanding karma or the cause and effect of our human actions. It is liberation from the earthly sufferings that is claimed to be the peak of the human life as it is the ultimate realization of happiness and freedom from suffering (Pauwels, 2002). It makes the individual to be in a state of existence in both phenomenal and spiritual all being.
In conclusion, Hinduism is evidently a non- united religious system that is strongly tied together by a collection of traditions and beliefs. It is due to this that the religion has been claimed to be a great influence of the Indian culture and societal beliefs. Such traditions are mainly marked with the philosophical concept of having freedom from suffering for mankind. This is why the religion is evidently found to seek liberation from earthly existence.

According to the Jewish theology, the God referred to Jews as his chosen people. Despite this fact they frequently became a target for persecution by the societies, in which they lived. The Jews and their teachings were always perceived as foreign, either as a monotheistic abnormality in the pre-Christian era or as a suspiciously successful minority in the modern era, especially in the predominantly Christian west. Although violent anti-Semitism has disappeared, most observers believe that anti-Semitism exists in less virulent forms.
Brief history
Since its beginning, the Catholic Church has spread the anti-Jewish teachings, because the Christian theology teachings consider the Jewish to be infidels, who killed Jesus and refused to embrace the true gospel. The church doctrines also stated that for one to be considered saved, they should show hatred to the Jews. Judaism was also viewed as an outdated religion that had been created by the church and the Bible (Groppe paragraph 2).
The term anti-Semitism refers to the prejudice or hatred against the Jewish. The holocaust, which was the government funded persecution and killing of the European Jews by Nazi Germany and its supporters between 1933 and 1945, is the major example of anti-Semitism in history. The term also implies hatred of various liberal, cosmopolitan and international political patterns of the 18th and 19th centuries, which are frequently associated with the Jews. In the 19th century, a xenophobic movement was formed by the German scholars, philosophers, and artists, who perceived the Jewish spirit to be alien to Germanhood. Theorist of the racial anthropology availed false scientific support for the idea. The Nazi party, which was formed by Adolf Hitler, also provided political support to the theories of racism. The Nazi party gained massive support because of spreading anti Jewish propaganda (Donald paragraph 4).

Political battle between Nazis and catholic party
The Catholic Church was very skeptical about Nazis even before the rise of Hitler to power. Hitler formed the Nazi party and due to his outrage against foreign rule and need for strong leadership, the Catholic party saw danger in his speeches and wanted to deport him back to his place of origin in Austria, but they feared the consequences associated with such an action. The Catholic party requested the Socialists to support them, but they turned down their offer citing an excuse that deportation would abuse the liberty of expression. Hitlers main strategy to ascend to power was through the election, and because of this he stopped offending the Christian teachings. Since the catholic bishops had known Hitlers, Nazis, and the Communists strategies, they were condemned from the pulpits (Donald paragraph 5).
The Nazi party enjoyed massive support in the city of Munich and some small towns in Bavaria, which was attributed to the fact that these areas were inhabited by Protestants. Later they won the elections to the National Student Council, which meant that they had massive support from the protestant universities, unlike catholic institutions. Since other political parties failed to show their commitments in the parliament fearing being pronounced popular, Hitler was seen as the only leader capable of forming a stable government which could save the country from the problems it was facing like inflation, serious unemployment, and social crimes (Groppe paragraph 4).
The hatred between the Catholic Church and the Nazis persisted and in 1931, the German bishops sent away all active Nazi party members from the church, and Hitler was among them. The Communists were also sent away from the church and the penalty was meant to involve them into an argument. Because of this action taken by the church against the Nazis and the communists, the president fired the catholic bishop, who was serving in the government as the chancellor and appointed another catholic, Papen, who was viewed as an independent person, who could help in finding a solution to the stalemate. Although the Nationalists showed interest in governing together with the Nazis, the coalition was seen to lack majority. Papen and the president encouraged the Catholic party not to vote so that the coalition could govern the country. The Catholic party defied the request and in return Papen joined the coalition. The Catholic party members felt cheated and reacted by expelling Papen from the party (Donald paragraph 4).
In 1933, new elections were held and the parties had prepared themselves for a political battle. The orthodox Jews preferred the Catholic party with the liberal and less religious voting for the socialist, liberals and conservatives. Because of the anti-Semitism, any party, which supported the Jews, was seen as a loser, therefore liberals and conservatives supported anti-Semitism. To show cooperation, the catholic party appointed a Jewish candidate and this made many Jews vote for the Catholic party. Because of this political orientation, Hitler won the election, which he did not gain many votes in catholic constituencies (Groppe paragraph 6).
After ascending to power, he requested a concordant with the church so that he could control the rights of the church in Germany. The concordant was signed with 40 states. The request was not considered unusual, since the government had promised the freedom of religion, which would also mean publishing and running schools. The church felt that this was a good deal, since there was no demand made in return. During the signing of the concordant there was joy from various groups who had been dictated in the past and they recognized Hitlers government as the legitimate one (Donald paragraph 4).
The major cause of the Catholic Churchs current life and its witness was its failure to exercise one of its core values moral responsibility during the time of anti-Semitism. Supporters of Catholic Church argue that the Nazi regime was a terrorist and a dictator, which was unstoppable, when it wanted to destroy its enemies. The initial intimidation by the Nazi officials to the catholic leaders that whoever opposed them would be taken off to the concentration camp resulted into a lot of fear and deterred most people from opposing the regime in any way. The support by the citizens made the regime to become more oppressive than ever before. The church was placed under thorough scrutiny with the clergy being scrutinized and the agents of the Gestapo and informers taking every note of the weekly summons (Donald paragraph 5).
The overgrown German custom of social control could easily be applied to any church member, who was observed not to support the Nazi regime and its political plan. The church members, who decided to maintain their individual and church traditions got frustrated and frequently paid the price for not being loyal to the regime. Because of all these cases of oppression, the reactions, which the Catholic Church showed, were mixed. The priests resisted by preaching crucial summons and the Catholics in the rural areas resisted Nazi activities (Groppe paragraph 7)
The lack of resistance to the Nazi regime and the subsequent decline in the moral integrity among the catholic leaders has been attributed to some historical facts. There is evidence that in the early days of the year1933, after Hitler had been selected as the chancellor, a massive number of Catholics were carried away by their expectations of an increasing strength of anti-communist policy and also by their optimism that there will be national renewal and revival promised by the people, who were spreading the Nazi propagandas. The excitement of the early speeches of the Nazi rule did not extend far because of the start of the First World War (Donald paragraph 4).  In the year 1935, the opposition which the clergy showed to the Nazi regime was divided since around 30 of the Catholics feared intimidation associated with defying the Nazi rule. The conclusion of the concordant by the Vatican in the year1933 compromised the position of the Catholics on hotly debated issues like sterilization and euthanasia. The church only supported Jews who had changed to catholic. The Catholic Church only supported the church but not the Jews who were being prosecuted by the Nazi regime, except the pronouncement of Pius the twelfth (Groppe paragraph 9)
The 15th anniversary of Hitlers rule, which took place in January 30th 1983, also raised eyebrows concerning the churchs stand on National Socialism. The accusations, which have been made against the church, concern the churchs knowledge on how to get a long with power by struggling for power and also to protect its territory and save its clerical appearance. The outward features of the church contributed to its criticism. Quite often the church looked shy when people expected rage towards Hitler. The Catholics become dissatisfied by the catholic leadership since the much expected show of outrage from the pope and the Episcopal did not occur (Donald paragraph. 7).

Vaticans criticism to the Nazis
    Although the church failed to oppose the Nazis by their names, their intentions came out clearly. This was illustrated by the speech of the German ambassador to the Vatican during the war. He said that the Vatican was expressing the outrage towards Nazis rule in general terms. The Nazis also knew the feelings of the church and this was confirmed when they said that the believers have an impression that the church rejects the institutions of the autonomist state. The church also spoke out directly rejecting the Nazis through arranged series of articles that strongly condemned the Nazis Dietrich (Donald paragraph 9). The articles were done by pope Pius the twelfth. In these articles the Vatican stated precisely that being a member of Hitlers party is against the catholic doctrines. In 1935, Cardinal Pacelli told the pilgrims including Germans that the Catholic Church would never agree with the Nazis as long as they still maintain their racial attitude.

If  a  Christian  was  asked  whether  he  is  a  true  follower  of  Christianity,  he  would  surely  claim  his  faith.  God  says  in  the  Bible

(1  John  3  17)  But  if  anyone  has  the worlds  goods  and  sees  his  brother  in  need,  yet  closes  his  heart  against  him,  how  does  Gods  love  abide  in  him

Then  why  is  it  that  none  of  us  follow  this  principle  Why  is  it  that  we  blindly  follow  Christ,  but  Christ  has  not  entered  into  our  hearts  yet  Why  is  it  that  we  sit  back  and  stare  blankly  at  the  suffering  of  our  fellow  mankind Why  is  it  that  many  of  us  sleep  in  warm,  cozy  beds,  while  others  have  to  endure  the  bitter  cold  out  in  the  streets  The  Soloist,  in  its  pages  enlightens  us  about  the  such  people  who  are  homeless  and  have  no  choice  but  to  spend  their  life  on  the  streets,  this  book  is  not  just  about  the  homeless,  it  is  about  friendship,  it  is  about  music  and  so  many  other  things.
The Soloist  tells  us  the  story  of  Nathaniel  Anthony Ayers, Jr.,  a  talented  human  being  whom  God  gifted  with  a  unique  talent  over  music.  Nathaniel  Ayerss  career  began  as  he  started  playing  the  cello  at  the  Julliard  School  in  New  York  and  it  was  during  his  time  here  that  he  developed  the  mental  illness  of  schizophrenia.  It  is  true  that  God  gives  and  He  has  the  right  to  take  from  an  individual,  but  who  are  we  to  question  is  will  and  to  let  down  a  fellow  human  being.  After  the  death  of  his  mother,  Ayers  travels  to  Los  Angeles  in  search  of  his  father,  but  failing  to  find  him,  he  is  forced  to  live  his  life  on  the  street,  trying  to  earn   his  living  by  playing  the  broken  musical  instruments  he  had  brought  along. This  is  when  Steve  Lopez,  a  journalist  whose  career  had  not  be  so  bright  at  that  time,  discovers  Ayerss  musical  flair  as  the  man  magnificently  plays  on  a  broken,  two  string  violin.
The  Soloist  has  shown  us  that  even  a  man  who  is  mentally  ill  can  achieve  greatness  and  fame,  God  gave  him  the  ability,  all  he  needed  was  a  push,  and  even  though  many  people  turned  him  down  just  because  of  his  mental  condition,  a  single  man  who  showed  little  faith  in  him,  changed  not  only  Nathaniel Ayerss  life  but  altered  his  own  as  well. 
The  religion  significances  this  book  is  trying  to  bring  to  us  is  that  people  like  Nathaniel  Ayers  are  our  fellow  human  beings,  they  are  alike  us,  they  need  our  help  and  support,  we  should  not  turn  ourselves into  selfish  beings,  it  is  our  duty  to  be  kind  to  them,  it  is  Gods  true  message  that  we  need  to  aid  them  physically  and  morally,  and  above  all  we  need  to  guide  them,  because  they  truly  need  our  guidance. We  must  always  remember  that  God  is  watching  and  what  we  do  to  others  might  come  upon  us  some  day.  As  God  speaks  in  the  Bible

(Matthew  7  120 )  Do  unto  others  as  you  would  have  others  do  unto  you.
Another  aspect  the  Soloist  highlights  is  the  true  spirit  of  friendship,  a  friendship  that  develops  between Ayers  and  Lopez,  as  he  tries  help  out  Nathaniel  in  every  way  possible,  thus  we  should  learn  the  lesson  of  friendship,  we  should  not  narrow  our  minds,  but  rather  open  up  our  hearts,  and  learn  the  lesson  and  build  an  emotional  foundation  of  love  and  kindness  upon  it.